Robyn and Denis Rowe - Grand Champions at the 2010 Sydney Royal Cheese and Dairy Produce Show

Canberra’s popular Saturday morning market, the Capital Region Farmers Market at EPIC, has successfully matched its growers with some of the best in Australia at the 2010 Sydney Royal Cheese and Dairy Produce Show, with three of the market’s most popular stallholders, Lindsay & Edmunds, Robyn Rowe and Small Cow Farm scooping up awards.

The judges of the show have taste tested their way through 863 products and have deemed Small Cow Farm, Robyn Rowe Chocolates and Lindsay & Edmunds Chocolates worthy winners of awards in their categories.

Farmers Market Spokesperson, Tony Howard, is most proud of the wins for these market stallholders, “The Sydney Royal Show award wins give real kudos to both these small businesses and also attest to the high calibre of products on offer each week at the Capital Region Farmers Market,” said Mr Howard.

Regarded as a premium cheese producer from Robertson, Small Cow Farm won gold and silver for their Petit Vache Brie and Petie Vache Camembert respectively. They were also awarded the Australian Cheeseboard Perpetual Trophy for their Petit Vache Brie, a huge honour according to Small Cow Farm cheese makers and owners Mark and Lesley Williams.

“Winning at the Royal Sydney Show is a great honour, it was such a surprise. We were tickled to win the Cheeseboard Perpetual Trophy and to be recognised alongside the likes of King Island,” Ms Williams said.

The Royal Sydney Show gives producers the opportunity to benchmark their products against the best that the country has to offer, whilst promoting their products under the respected Sydney Royal brand.

And another Capital Region Farmers Market favourite, Robyn Rowe Chocolates from Murrumbateman won the Champion Chocolate Award for her hand made assorted chocolates, for the second year. She also took out gold in the Boxed Chocolate assortment category.

“Winning the award for the second year in a row is a great honour. It’s helped us realise that we are producing some of Australia’s best chocolate, being up against companies such as Haigh’s from South Australia and The Margret River Chocolate Company,” Ms Rowe said.

The market’s handmade organic chocolate producer Lindsay & Edmunds, were also recognised at the Sydney Royal Show, winning gold for their Organic Caramelised Chilli Macadamia in Organic Dark Chocolate, and silver for their Organic Honey-Almond Praline in Organic Belgian Milk Chocolate.

The Capital Region Farmers Market will be closed on Saturday 27 February as the Royal Canberra Show will be in full swing on 26 – 28 February at Exhibition Park. The Market will operate as normal following the show on Saturday 6 March.

The Capital Region Farmers Market in Canberra is a genuine farmers market with over 100 stalls offering a diverse range of fresh food and agricultural produce straight from the producer to the customer. All funds generated from the Market are fed back into regional communities and other projects chosen by the Rotary Club of Hall which founded the Market in 2004.

"Two Islands in the Strean" Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton make success happen in two's

In the words of Kenny and Dolly ‘We rely on each other a-ha’, in business we need to rely on other smart businesses to get the most out of our marketing. The partnership of Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton for the hit song Islands in the Stream took these two artists to new heights, securing their number one place in the pop charts in 1983. Alone, would they of had the same impact?

Just like Kenny and Dolly, marketers today are turning to different tools to drive business forward and strategic partnership marketing does just that. Bringing together two different companies, each with their own brand equity and distribution channels partnership marketing can open up a company to a new market and take it to new heights. Marketing partnerships work the same as any other partnership, when planned well and strategised properly, they allow you to develop relationships that will effectively promote and grow your business.

So what makes a good partnership?

1. You need to make sure the partnership is going to be mutually beneficial and that their goals are the same as yours, they don’t have to be exactly aligned, but it’s important that your working towards the same thing – singing from the same song book.
2. You need to be clear about what each other are going to bring to the partnership and who is going to be responsible for what – you take the low notes and I’ll hit the high ones.
3. Most importantly you need to carefully consider how the two businesses are going to work together; this includes the business culture and practices that may be different.  Don’t realease a single before xmas if the other person is thinking about a full album launch

Once you have carefully considered all of these things, you removed another obstacle in your marketing stream, opening up new opportunities and taking you to new heights.  Or you could try and count your money, sitting at the table, gambling by yourself.  I know which one I would choose.

What would you add to the list of what makes a good partnership in business?

The Capital Region Farmers Market will host a special Slow Soup Kitchen where patrons can try soups made completely from local produce, and pay what they think it’s worth. The Slow Soup Kitchen will be onsite at the markets this Saturday 5 December as part of the inaugural Terra Madre Day celebrations.

On the twenty year anniversary of Slow Food, Canberra Slow Food people are organising the unique Slow Soup Kitchen as a reminder that people should get back to the basics, and to celebrate Terra Madre Day.

“The Capital Region Farmers Market is a perfect match for the Slow Food movement which celebrates the joy of food, the people who make and grow food, and the people that love to eat fresh local produce. We have all of those people at the markets on a regular basis,” said Peter O’Clery, Grower’s Representative for the Capital Region Farmers Markets, and long time supporter of Slow Food Canberra.

The Slow Food movement came about exactly twenty years ago when a few Italians decided that the pace of life was moving too fast and it was time to slow down and counteract the disappearance of local food traditions, people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.

The inaugural worldwide Terra Madre Day will be officially marked on 10 December and celebrates locally produced food that is good, clean and fair – food that tastes good and is produced without harming the environment and taking social justice issues into consideration. It is celebrated across 150 countries by Slow Food’s 100,000 members.

“Events such as the markets’ Slow Soup Kitchen will raise attention of the importance of eating locally.

“Foods sourced from as close to home as possible is the most responsible way to live today and by purchasing directly from farmers, we know where and how our foods are produced, how far they have travelled and therefore the freshness and, at these markets, we can visually appraise the quality of all these foods and talk to the growers,” said Mr O’Clery.

Canberra’s Slow Soup Kitchen will dish up vichyssoise, beef, bean and vegetable soup, beetroot soup and pistou, all served with wood fired breads made by members and chefs using locally sourced produce generously donated by growers.

Proceeds from the Slow Food Kitchens are supporting the establishment of School Kitchen Gardens in the ACT and surrounding districts, and to raise funds for representatives to attend Terra Madre in Turin in 2010.

The Capital Region Farmers Market in Canberra is a genuine farmers market with over 100 stalls offering a diverse range of fresh food and agricultural produce straight from the producer to the customer. It is held every Saturday morning at Exhibition Park from 8 am to 11 am.

All funds generated from the Market are fed back into regional communities and other projects chosen by the Rotary Club of Hall which founded the Market in 2004.

Below is a story that we wrote for the farmers  market promoting the winter warmers at the market. Enjoy!

Hot food and warm people make Canberra’s Farmers Market a real winter treat!

Capital Region Farmers Market Media Release – 28th July 2009

Canberra’s popular Saturday morning market, the Capital Region Farmers Market, is a must-taste on a visit to Canberra this winter.

“There’s no doubt the weather can be cool in the nation’s capital at this time of year. Browsing and tasting the range of hot food and beverages on offer at the Capital Region Farmers Market is sure to warm the soul and is a real winter treat,” said Rotary Club of Hall spokesperson, Tony Howard.

The market is a genuine farmers market with over 100 stalls attracting over 5000 customers to Canberra’s Exhibition Park each week. All funds generated are fed back into regional communities and other projects chosen by the Rotary Club of Hall which was responsible for founding the market back in 2004.

“Visitors can trawl a wonderful variety of fresh food and agricultural produce direct from the farm gate. And with deliciously tasty hot food and beverages combined with the buzzing atmosphere and warm friendly nature of our stallholders, the market really ‘heats up’ each Saturday morning. It’s all about keeping our customers warm and their bellies full,” said Tony.

First stop on a winter morning at the market is always for coffee. Jindebah Hills Coffee, a roasting house based in the Canberra suburb of Mitchell, sells around 700 coffees on a normal day at the market. Using fresh roasted Arabica beans grown in Byron Bay, Jindebah is a family owned company with three generations now involved in growing, roasting and coffee sales.

For a  different comforting warm drink, visitors can try Real Chai. Owner Anthea Cahill has always got a 20 litre pot of hot chai on her stove to keep her market customers warm. “After discovering Chai overseas, nothing compared back at home, so I decided to make my own,” said Anthea. Ingredients in Real Chai have been uniquely sourced and hand blended and visitors just love it – as evidenced by the 80 litres of Chai Anthea sells on a normal market day.

One of the most original hot foods sold at the Capital Region Farmers Market is the Stikkie Bikkie, always sure to delight as they come out deliciously warm and toasted from under the cooker at the market. Stikkie Bikkie is a traditional Dutch syrup wafer, known in Holland as a ‘Stroopwafel’ and they are made by Dutch born Henny van Kleef.

Henny grew up in Holland eating these biscuits and with only an imported product available in Australia, he thought it left much to be desired and returned to Holland to learn the process of making the wafers. Now one of the hottest stalls at the market, they’ve had people come from Sydney and Melbourne to devour the real Dutch Stroopwafel made in Canberra. On a winter’s morning there’s nothing better than a warm Stikkie Bikkie washed down with a hot apple cider made fresh with lemon myrtle and spices.

For something more hearty, visitors can try the all natural gourmet ‘bangers’ from Desirees Fine Food. Stuart McKinnon from Desirees cooks up his bangers each morning for market customers to sample a changing selection all day, and says some of the recipes have been influenced by market customers. The gourmet sausages are produced by hand in small batches once a week from fresh primary cuts of meat and seafood. Chicken with sage and tarragon, and lamb with coriander and pine nuts are the most popular choice of banger, and Desirees’ pies and curries are definitely the perfect comfort food on a cold winter weekend.

Nut lovers will melt over hot caramel macadamias from the Batemans Bay Nut Roasting Company, vegans will love take home soups and curries from Pilpel Fine Foods. And the list of tasty winter warmers available at the Capital Region Farmers Market goes on…The Capital Region Farmers Market is held every Saturday morning at Exhibition Park in Canberra from 8am until 11am.

More information on the market, including stallholder information can be found at www.capitalregionfarmersmarket.com.au

[ends]

For more information, images or to arrange an interview, please contact Lauren Griffiths, Threesides, 0417 409 264 or lauren.griffiths@threesides.com.au

Download this release: CRFM-MediaRelease-WINTER WARMERS-280709

The man hailed  as “Obama’s secret political weapon”, Ben Self, Program Director and Founding Partner of Blue State Digital, will be visiting Australia to divulge various secrets surrounding the most successful online campaign in history.

Ben  is coming to Australia as a special guest of the Internet Industry Association (IIA). He will be the keynote speaker at the IIA’s annual dinner on Thursday 12 February. He will then conduct a series of exclusive lunches and cocktail events where guests will be able to take part in a lively discussion about Obama’s campaign and unlocking the power of the internet for your business.

Follow the link below to the Couch Creative website for more info on exclusive events which will take place in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. The Threesides team plans to be tuning in at the Canberra event so let us know if you’ll be there and we can meet up.

Visit http://www.couchcreative.com.au/kingmaker09/ for more information. Some more info on Ben below (from the event website):

About Ben Self and BSD

Ben founded BSD in 2004 with three other individuals responsible for Howard Dean’s use of the Internet during his presidential campaign. The company now has offices in New York, London, Boston, Washington DC, and San Francisco, creating digital strategy and technology for political candidates, non-profits and companies. BSD powers the online presence of the largest and most prominent Democratic candidates and progressive organisations, including the presidential campaign of Barack Obama.

During his career, Ben has garnered extensive experience in digital technologies, statistical data analysis, data warehousing, database architecture and administration, system design, and system development. He has both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science’s from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Canberra District Wines - Good food week Sydney 2008

The following is an article that Todd wrote for The Berra Magazine’s innaugural edition in November 2008.  This will be a regular monthly column on the local canberra wine district where we will share our knowledge and insights into what we think makes this region worth visiting and give it a fun twist – eg. no wine snobs in sight!

For the final in print story (editors always take out the juicy bits though) you can download a copy of the berra at www.theberra.com.au/nov08 or pick up one of the 40,000 printed copies around town. Enjoy!

———

TIPS FROM TODD – The Berra Magazine – November 2008

Our local Berra wine dude is Todd Wright.  Todd is proud to be born and bred in Canberra but he claims he is a local with a difference – he actually knows about our local wine district and claims to know have some inside stories about this district and is willing to share, sweet!.  So we have asked Todd to put together a series of articles on the local Canberra Wine District, including what he calls his “Tips from Todd” to help the rest of us become wine dudes as well.  We have told him to avoid the ‘Wine Wankerisms’ and tell us the exciting and different sides of the local district without the wine jargon.  If you have any questions or maybe some tips of your own to share – hit us up and we’ll see if we can ‘blend’ them into one of our future editions.  Enough of the wine puns and on with the show – know where did I put my glass down….

Ask any Canberran of their favourite wine district in Australia and you might hear stories of long lunches in the Barossa, Winding through the vines Hunter Valley, meandering down a winding lane in Margaret River or becoming best mates with a nice red in Mudgee.  A visit to a winery is on a lot of peoples ‘must do on holidays’ list – and why shouldn’t it be – nice wine mixes well with a relaxing weekend.   But for those in the know, you don’t need to go very far or even be on holidays to experience a district that can rival any region in Australia.  With 33 wineries within 35 minutes of Canberra – making a trip out to a local winery is becoming more than just a novelty or the thing to do on a special occasion for many Canberrans.

So – now you know – forget the expensive plane ticket to WA and you no longer have to worry about the 5 hour drive to the Hunter to get stuck into some great local wine and the best of the local regions produce.   But now that you know that the Canberra region has wineries I don’t expect you to be a instant local wineries expert, but wouldn’t it be great if you could start rattling off a few wineries, have a bottle in the rack at home, drop a few tips about the top wines in the region or even get a group of friends together a take them on a tour of the region.   Here’s my Top Ten tips for how to become a local wines expert within minutes so when you head out with your mates next weekend they will be in awe of your local wines knowledge and you might even get them to buy you a bottle or two for all your hard work!

1.       Do your research – jump on the net and head to www.canberrawines.com.au . This site lists 33 of the wineries in the district and has maps, info on events, cafe and restaurant listings and contact details for each winery.

2.       Grab a map – The local wineries map is a gold nugget of district information.  Will a full scale map of the region and listings of all the wineries – a copy well positioned on the coffee table will get people talking about wineries in no time.  Pick one up at the Canberra and Region Visitors centre on Northbourne Ave. Dickson.

3.       Get to know your regions – the Canberra district is roughly split into 4 regions.  Murrumbateman, Hall, Wamboin / Bungendore and Lake George.  Each district produces different varieties due to their elevation and climate but don’t get too technical just yet…

4.       Make friends with a Riesling or Shiraz – The top 2 wines produced in the district are Shiraz and Riesling.  These 2 wines are great conversation starters and will lubricate the best debates on local wines.

5.       Find an excuse to head out – do you really need an excuse to head out to a winery?  If you do the Wine Harvest Festival in April or the Wine Roses and All that Jazz in November are 2 of the best (just be warned – the cellar doors get really busy).

6.       Plan a wine tour – get a designated driver, hire a mini bus, call some local wineries and run your own tour (more on this topic in the next issue of the Berra).

7.       Grab a good feed – A number of wineries have great restaurants and Cafes so plan your trip around lunch time to get the best taste of the region.   Need a recommendation?  Stay glued to this column and we will hit up the best winery restaurants in future editions.

8.       Play favourites – Mum never played favourites with your brothers or sisters, but you are allowed to.  Visit a few wineries and pick your favourite.  Get to know the owners, by a few bottles, join their cellar club and go along to a new release tasting or special event.  You’ll be on the xmas card list in no time.

9.       Brush up on the lingo – Winery cellar doors in the Canberra district are more often than not run by the wine maker, the winery owner or their family and you can have a chat with the person who has actually made the wine you are drinking.  Ask about the latest vintage, what makes a cool climate wine different from other wines just don’t start crapping on about cut grass and asparagus flavours or they will know you have no idea!.

10.   Phone a friend – Eddie Maguire might have been absent from our TV screens for quite some time know but you don’t need Fat Ed to tell you to phone a friend and find a day that you can head out to the wineries “Next Saturday?…Lock it in Eddie”

33 wineries within 35 minutes drive of the city – that is one statistic that you don’t need to work at the ABS to work out is the perfect ingredient for a great day out with friends.    Keep my Top Ten List close and start swotting up on your local wine knowledge today.  Who knows when it will come in handy next. When you get out to a local winery – let me know if you pick up any other tips that need to be added to the list and we’ll see if we can work them into the next vintage – I mean edition!.

Winter Thrills Canberra’s fireside Festival

http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,26058,24070961-5006180,00.html

Jeanti St. Clair…..cool name.

We’ve been working on the marketing for an event ‘The Fireside Festival‘ due to kickoff in August 2008. It’s one of those jobs where we’ve been pencilling the events into my own calendar!

Yes Canberra is cold in winter, there’s no denying it but what about celebrating winter through cosy fireside experiences like degustation dinners, winetastings, local artists hosting studio tours and bed and breakfast getaways. That’s how the FIreside Festival came about. It’s been running since 2005 and is held at a number of different venues across the Canberra Region during every weekend in August. Starting with 5 venues the event now covers 24 venues with over 100 events.

Having spent 12months in the northern hemisphere last year and experiencing the Christmas markets of Europe complete with roaring fireplaces and open braziers on every street corner I think this is a concept that will really do well back here in Oz during winter and a great example of thinking outside the square and reinventing your product to create new opportunities.

The new website we’ve developed with Osky Interactive has been launched at www.firesidefestival.com.au

More info on the festival in the Fireside Festival media release:
media-release_fireside-festival-20081